World War II
(Desktop only) A ▼ indicates a collapsible list/section. Click it to show/hide its contents. ---- World War II, commonly referred to as The Second World War and abbreviated as WW2 or WWII, was a global war between the Allies (United Nations from 1942) against the Axis Powers headed by the Tripartite of Germany, Italy and Japan. With a death toll of about 85 million, World War II was the single most destructive conflict ever fought in history. The bulk of the fighting was concentrated in Europe and eastern Asia, but almost all of the world saw confrontations in one way or another. World War II primarily started because of the First World War. Several countries, predominantely Germany and Italy (Who, ironically, fought each other in the war and joined opposing factions), were ravaged and humiliated in the war, and wanted revenge. __TOC__ Participants: The Axis Powers The Tripartite Also known as the Roberto Axis (Ro'me, '''Be'rlin, 'To'kyo) :* '''Germany was one of the most ravaged nations after World War I. Economically and politically, it was in shambles. Everyone hated Germany and refused diplomacy with it; the Saarland was occupied by the Allies; it was denied positions in many international organisations; and its people were humiliated. This led to the rise of Hitler and the NSDAP in 1932, who promised revenge and that they would make Germany the absolute and uncontested, total world power. Because Hitler needed a scapegoat, he blamed all of Germany's misery on the Jews. :* Italy delivered some of the most major and costly contributions of World War I, but received almost no recognition for their deeds. Italy was promised a lot of land and support if it joined the Allies, but only received a very tiny portion of Austria and virtually no assistance. After it realized other countries like Poland and France had received at least three times the land and unfathomable international support and assistance, Italy felt cheated, and once it plunged into an economic crisis, anti-Western sentiments developed. This allowed for the rise of Benito Mussolini and his Fascists. :* Relations between the West and the Empire of Japan had always been weird and uncomfortable since the Western countries essentially forced Japan to open itself up from isolation in 1853. Following its entrance into the international scene, Japan pursued a heavy expansionist, imperialist and ultranationalist policy that involved the expansion of the Japanese Empire and its culture at the expense of the societies of its conquered territories, which were to be completely obliterated to absolute nothingness. Japan's sudden, random and highly aggressive conquests of Korea in 1910, Manchuria in 1931 and several other chunks of China starting from 1937 led to strained relations with the West, who placed economic embargos on Japan and pressured them into releasing the territories. Japan was furious, claiming they had "rightfully conquered these lands" and "liberated them from the evil West and China". Other countries that signed the Tripartite Pact :* Hungary was one of the states most loyal to Germany. It was the first state outside of the Roberto Axis to sign the Tripartite Pact, doing so on November 20, 1940. Even before doing so, Hungary had already seized parts of Carpatho-Ukraine and the First Slovak Republic. After officially joining the Axis, Hungary under the rule of dictator Miklós Horthy participated in the invasions of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, absorbing many more territories in doing so. In 1944, Horthy was deposed from power and replaced with the fascist leader Ferenc Szálasi. Hungary kept fighting side by side with the Nazis until May 1945, when it was finally defeated. :* Three days after Hungary, Romania under Ion Antonescu signed the Tripartite Pact and it became one of Germany's biggest and deadliest companions. Romanian troops participated in the invasions of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, attaining big territorial gains. Romania contributed more troops to Russia than all of Germany's other allies combined — over 600,000. While the Romanians fought hard for the Axis, a severe bombing campaign of Bucharest and the invasion of Romania by the Soviet Union caused an internal collapse that allowed a pro-Allied government to seize power. Following this, Romania switched sides. :* Just like in World War I, Bulgaria stood with Germany. After signing the Tripartite Pact in 1941, Bulgaria assisted in the invasions of Greece and Yugoslavia and dispatched an occupation force to these countries. Its navy also fought several battles against the Soviet navy in the Black Sea, although no war was declared. In spite of Bulgaria seeing lesser military service at the Axis side than Hungary and Romania, the nation proved essential in allowing the Nazis a springboard for several invasions, holding territories in Greece, Macedonia and Serbia (crushing resistance there) and keeping the Soviet Navy at bay. The Allies started bombing Sofia in 1943; by September 8, 1944, Soviet armies had captured Sofia. Bulgaria too, switched sides and fought with the United Nations from now on. :* Slovakia, officially the First Slovak Republic (Prvá Slovenská republika), was founded on 14 March 1939, when Slovakia under Jozef Tiso declared independence from Czechia. One day later, Germany invaded and conquered Czechia, and allied with Slovakia. On 1 September 1939, the Slovaks participated in the Invasion of Poland from the south, seizing several southern Polish districts and annexing them. Two years later in 1941, Slovakia sent 45,000 troops to the Eastern Front, assisting in Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. After the failure of Operation Barbarossa, the Soviets were on the offensive, and several anti-Nazi uprisings destabilized the republic. On 4 May 1945, the Red Army took Bratislava; four days later on 8 May, Slovakia surrenderd. Tiso was hung in Bratislava and Slovakia was re-incorporated into Czechoslovakia. :* The fascist Ustaše movement, led by Ante Pavelić which eventually adhered to Nazism, desired a sovereign Croatia, resorting to many violent manners in doing so and garnering support from Benito Mussolini of Italy. During the invasion of Yugoslavia, the Ustaše collaborated with the Axis powers and established the Independent State of Croatia, which soon went on to partake in the Invasion of the Soviet Union and patrol the Medditeranean with its navy. The Croats executed their own form of the Holocaust that also targeted Muslims, and seized Bosnia and Herzegovina into its territory. The state outlived even Nazi Germany and continued fighting until 25 May 1945, when the Croatians were defeated once and for all in the Battle of Odžak. Pavelić escaped custody, only to be succesfully assassinated by Blagoje Jovović. Axis Powers that didn't sign the Tripartite Pact :* Finland was left all alone by the Western Allies during the Soviet invasion of the country in 1939, despite their promise to send help. After the Finns repelled the invasion, they were mad: both at the Soviets, and at France and the United Kingdom. This drove them right into the arms of Nazi Germany, who promised help in enacting their revenge, regaining lost lands, conquering Karelia and establishing a Greater Finland. The Finns participated in the Invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, closely coordinating their actions with the Nazis, and allowed Germany to set up bases in the country. Discussions were also established about the secession of northern Sweden and Norway to Finland, but the Finns declined. On 6 December 1941, the United Kingdom declared war on Finland and conducted several attacks on the country. By summer 1944, the Soviets had pushed the Finns back into their own borders, bombed Helsinki over and over and were ready to invade Finland itself. Realizing all was lost, Finland agreed to peace. The Moscow Armistice commanded Finland to declare war on Germany and remove all Germans and their bases from its territory, an obligation it agreed to carry out. :* Thailand at the time was controlled by the military dictator Plaek Phibunsongkram, who desired a Greater Thai Kingdom. In 1940, Thailand invaded French Indochina, gaining several territories with support from Japan. The nations grew closer together, but in 1941, Japan demanded free passage through Thailand in order to invade Burma. The Thais did not respond, but Japan bulldozered through the country anyway. Phibun realized the advantage of an alliance with Japan and ordered the army to put down all resistance, and instead collaborate with Japan. Correctly fearing the accession of Thailand to the Axis Powers, the United Kingdom invaded Thailand on 8 December, but the Thais repelled the invasion by 11 December. By 21 December, the Thai-Japanese alliance was finalized (sans a revision on 30 December), and in January 1942, Thailand declared war on the United States and the Comonwealth. The Thais invaded several territories in all four directions, greatly expanding their borders. The Allies bombed Bangkok several times in retaliation. After Japan's surrender in September 1945, Thailand (Which was still allied with Japan, despite Phibun's removal from power in 1944) agreed to peace and released all occupied territories. Thanks to the United States (The Thai ambassador in America refused to hand over the declaration of war), Thailand only received a relatively light punishment for its wartime role. :* In 1941, the new government in Iraq as of 31 March aligned itself with the Axis Powers. The United Kingdom took no risks and invaded Iraq, which fought back with assistance from Italy and Germany. In spite of being a relatively weak nation, Iraq was able to hold out considerably long, only truly collapsing on 2 June 1941, ending Iraq's involvement in the war. Although it didn't last very long, Iraq managed to distract the Allies from their main objectives and proved a threat to Allied possessions and security in the Middle East. Participants: The United Nations The Big Four Other main Allies Other major Allies Participants: Co-belligerents and co-operating states With the Allies With the Axis Powers Category:Wars